


Avalon-Con

by Chaunceytron



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gancanagh, Gen, Leanansidhe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9081370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaunceytron/pseuds/Chaunceytron
Summary: (Sequel to Devil in Plain Sight)Sam and Dean are investigating a blood-draining monster, when Syd gives them a call. A fight has broken out at the convention center under ambiguous (and possibly supernatural) circumstances, and Syd wants to unravel the mystery.





	1. Back in Black

The convention center was jam packed. Syd tried to repress a shiver as she took a couple steps further up the stairs; Charlie was talking to their friend Ren. Somehow they had secured part of the bench and were looking at the different panels for Saturday. Syd didn’t feel comfortable that close to the wave of people, so she had decided to watch out for their fourth musketeer. Lucy should be entering any moment now. Apparently, she’d met someone the previous night at the hotel, and they hadn’t heard back from her until this morning.

  
Syd was happy for Lucy, albeit worried. Lucy was the most introverted of their group, and quite frankly Syd was worried about this mystery man. However, Lucy was an adult and capable of making her own decisions, or so Charlie told Syd. Although Syd had come to the realization that she might be projecting, she was still on edge. The mystery man Syd had dealt with turned out to be Lucifer, so maybe it was wise to be cautious.

The doors opened again, and Syd snapped back into focus. Lucy strode into the convention center. Syd gave her a wave but realized that something was wrong. The look of rage on her face sent chills up Syd’s spine. Lucy was shy and gentle, and this almost looked like a different person. Syd tried to quickly get back down the steps, but a wave of people got in her way. Soon there was a crowd around where Lucy had vanished. Seeing the horror-stricken looks on Charlie and Ren’s faces, Syd ran back up the stairs to get a better look.

Lucy had another girl’s hair in her hands and was clearly trying to rip it out. An uneasy pressure hit Syd as she found her eyes drawn to look outside away from the fight. In front of the fountain, there was a lone man sitting outside and watching the fight with smug satisfaction. As though he felt the same pressure, his head turned, and his eyes met hers. Surprise gave way to amusement, and he threw her a smirk and a wave.

An unexpected anger flooded Syd, and she quickly ran down the stairs, pushing through people to get outside. Security was breaking up the scuffle as she ran outside. The evening air felt cool and crisp, but it gave Syd no real comfort as she looked around the front of the building. He had disappeared. There was no sign that he’d ever even been there. Syd looked back inside; Charlie and Ren were probably looking for her in the chaos that followed the fight.

However, she felt compelled to at least check the side of the building before going back inside. If he wasn’t there, she would go find out what happened with Lucy. Besides now that the surge of adrenaline had worn off, she felt kind of foolish. Just because some creep was getting off on watching a catfight doesn’t mean he somehow started it.

“What am I doing?” Syd whispered to herself before she quickly and quietly peeked around the side. Sure enough, a man was leaning on the side of the building a few meters away with a pipe sticking out of his mouth. Syd quickly took cover again. Okay, so maybe Mr. Holmes over there had just decided to go outside for a quick smoke; Syd was both disappointed and relieved. She’d gotten a bit of excitement recently and was clearly hoping for more. It had started to get dark, so Syd decided to back inside.

“Looking for a little excitement?” a deep voice asked from the dark.

Syd spun around to see the stranger peering at her from around the corner. His black eyes glittered in the dark like a cat’s, fixated on a new toy. Syd noticed that he had an accent, Irish maybe. Holding his gaze, she took a step backwards towards the entrance of the building. He tilted his head as though confused. As he took a step toward her, she took one back, still holding his gaze coldly.

“Sorry if I frightened you,” he said with a kind smile, but Syd didn’t drop her guard.

“No problem. I don’t think you’re all that frightening,” Syd replied evenly.

“Good to hear. My name’s Sean. What’s yours?” he asked holding out his hand.

Syd felt an odd urge to grab his hand but restrained herself. “Sydney,” she said as she took another step back. She reached her hand into her pocket. Dean and Sam had told her about demons and how to deal with them. She had to get a tattoo, which was actually pretty cool, and she always carried some salt on her just in case. As her hand closed around the salt, her urge to shake his hand faded.

“What a lovely name. Sydney, I was wondering if you could help me with something,” he said cheerfully as he snapped his fingers.

As Sean took a step towards her, Syd realized with panic that her legs wouldn’t move. His smile became more catlike again; he must have done some sort of magic. As he got closer, Syd’s fingers went loose around the salt, and she relaxed.

“Syd?! You out here?” Charlie called from the entrance, and Syd once again grasped the salt. She flung the salt at him and ran to Charlie, practically dragging her inside. Charlie must have realized that something was very wrong and looked at Syd with concern.

“I’m calling Sam,” Syd quickly Charlie, who was shocked but nodded with approval.


	2. Syd, the Weirdness Magnet

“So your friend just attacked her?” Sam asked Syd as he took a sip from his drink. Dean and Sam had been working a new case and had hit a dead end. They’d decided to get something to eat and regroup. A man had been found with his throat slit, which alone wouldn’t get their attention, but he had been drained completely of blood. The kicker was that his muscles contained an unusually high amount of oxytocin. Normally that would indicate a siren, but the blood thing was new. Plus whatever it was had seemed to vanish the moment Sam and Dean had appeared. So the call was a welcome distraction.

  
“Yeah. She’s not that kind of person. She’s basically a nicer version of Charlie. And less pushy. Ow! Easy now, Charles,” Syd said over the phone. Sam smiled as Syd continued, “It’s really weird. She told us that she met someone last night…”

  
“And what?”

  
“Well, there was a strange guy last night. Outside watching the fight. I went outside to check it out,” Syd said hesitantly.

“So you went outside. By yourself. With a weird guy hanging around outside who may have done something to your friend?” Sam asked and saw Dean roll his eyes.

“Yes, Sam. A little less judgment, please. I threw salt in his face, which seemed to really throw him off balance. At first, I thought he was just outside for a smoke, but he really never even lit… it,” Syd sounded like she had just had an epiphany. “I think I know what it… he is. But I’m gonna need to do more research first.”

“Okay, but just research. Syd, promise me,” Sam said as Dean’s phone buzzed. “We’ll try to get there as soon as we can. Just research. Syd?”

“Yeah. Sure. See you soon,” Syd replied hastily, clearly distracted, and hung up the phone.

Sam sighed and turned to Dean. Dean was listening intently to the phone, and his eyes had lit up. He started the car and pulled out of the lot.

“Thank you. We’re headed that way now.”

“They find another body?” Sam asked despite knowing the answer.

“Yeah. In a dumpster two blocks away from the convention center,” Dean said as he looked at Sam.

“The one Syd’s at? Could it be a coincidence?”

“I doubt it,” scoffed Dean. “We’re not that lucky. It looks like our little Sydney is a magnet for all things dark and scary.” Dean thought for a moment then asked, “Could it be because of Lucifer’s grace?”

 

“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. Castiel seemed more worried about Lucifer going after her than any other effects, but still… even he doesn’t know the full extent of what’s going on with the grace. We should be careful though. Luckily Cas put those sigils on her ribs, so it’s unlikely that any angels or even demons have found her yet.”

Dean grunted in agreement. “Still weird though.”

“Agreed,” Sam sighed again.

“Did Cas say anything about the grace? It should be fading, right?”

“Cas has been keeping an eye on her, but unfortunately it isn’t. It hasn’t been that long though, so maybe it just needs more time. Besides, Cas and Mom are doing research right now in the library. Between the two of them, they should be able to find something. Cas says that we can try to extract the grace should anything happen but…”

“What?”

“I’d rather not have him do it at all. Dean, it hurt like hell when he did it to me, and it was nowhere near my soul. It’d be incredibly dangerous, and she’s given enough for us.”

Dean nodded in agreement as he started the car. “I’ll check out the Dexter crime scene, and you can go supervise little miss badass. Though hearing that one of Syd’s friends attacked someone… is it really that surprising?”

“Normally, I’d say no, but Syd really seemed shocked. You’d expect that Syd would have gotten involved in the fight, but this sounds like it went beyond normal.”

“So she’s doing research? Did you ask her about our siren wannabe?”

“No, I figured that it’d be easier to explain when we got there.”

“Yeah, the oxycotin’s kinda weird. It really sounds like a siren’s work.”

“Oxytocin, Dean. And I don’t think that it’s a siren. Sirens usually make someone else do their dirty work, and they don’t have any use for human blood. And if the siren encouraged someone else to kill the guy, then we’d have a love-struck fool running around and acting strange, but there was no evidence of that.”

“Maybe a witch. But that’s a lot of blood for a spell. Especially since there’s now a second body.”

“Yep. And Syd’s creature seems to affect people in a weird way too. Almost like a siren. But sirens usually make their victims attack someone they love. Syd’s friend didn’t even know the other girl,” Sam responded as he watched out the window.

They drove in silence until they reached Syd’s hotel; each of the trying to figure out what it could be. Dean pulled up to the drop-off, and Sam got out of the car and walked inside. The lobby was mostly empty with a few people in costumes walking in and out of the hotel. Most of them seemed to be getting ready for some kind of party.

“Hey, Sam!” Syd called over from one of the lobby’s couches, openly looking through occult books.

“Are you sure you should be doing that here?” Sam asked as he got close, gesturing to the other people.

Syd raised an eyebrow and pointedly glanced towards a group in fairy costumes before replying, “Just doing some research on next year’s costume. Besides Charlie and Ren are upstairs comforting Lucy. She’s a wreck.”

Sam took a seat beside her on the couch. She was reading about something called a ‘Gancanagh.’ There was a picture of a man with a pipe hanging out of his mouth.

“So you found something?” Sam asked pointing to the page.

“Yes! I got the idea when I was talking about the pipe. The ‘love-talker’ in Irish folklore is usually depicted with one. But it’s never lit because fairies hate smoke.”

Sam felt his face fall a bit.

“I know. Really weird but I figured that if the Goatman could exist so could fairies.”

“They do. We’ve dealt with them before.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“No, not really,” Sam said. He told Syd about what they were after as he texted Dean. If it was fairies again, then he needed to prepare everyone quickly.


	3. Fight the Fairies

Dean stretched as he prepared to go into the café. Sam and Dean had gotten a hotel room last night at a place twenty minutes away from anything useful, but every other place was book for the convention. Sam had decided to meet up with Syd to do more research while Dean went to investigate the café. Last night’s victim had fought back. The scene still had blood all over the walls when Dean had gotten there. Apparently he was last seen at the café where they were having a “host club.”

  
Sam and Syd had figured out that her friend had been duped by a fairy of some sort. Dean had not been happy to hear that. Last time they’d dealt with fairies on their turf, Dean had gotten abducted, and he certainly didn’t want a repeat of that. He heard a sniffle and walked cautiously to the side of the building. A pretty, young woman was crying in the back.

  
“Excuse me,” Dean said and took out his badge. “Agent Collins. May I help you with anything?”

  
She started to cry harder at the sight of his badge but slowly composed herself.

  
“Is this about Ed?” she asked through her tears.

  
“Yes. Are you his girlfriend?” Dean asked as kindly as he could. He really needed her cooperation if she was.

  
“Yes. Well, ex. He just broke up with me last night. With a text!”

  
Dean waited until she composed herself again before continuing, “And what’s your name?”

  
“Amy Beech. Oh God, this looks so bad! The last I heard from him was the text, I swear. He didn’t even answer my calls. I stayed with my friends all of last night.”

  
“Okay. Well, I’m going to need for you to go down to the station to make a statement, but first I need to ask you a few questions. Did his behavior last night seem a little… off to you?” Dean asked carefully.

  
“Well, yeah. He dumped me over some woman he had just met. Said she understood him better than anyone. We were together for four years!”

  
“Okay then. Was he acting strange at any point this weekend? Did he notice anyone strange?”

  
Amy looked at Dean with confusion. “Strange? At a convention? Have you even looked around?”

  
“You have a point there,” Dean muttered as he saw a Deadpool dancing across the sidewalk.

  
He told her to take any further statements to the police. It was likely that she’d be considered a suspect for them with her possible motive, texts, and calls, but Dean knew that she was just some poor soul caught up in the craziness that was Dean’s daily life. He took a deep breath and entered the café. The staff proceeded to tell Dean that they were not open; they all looked deeply sad. Dean flashed his badge to the group, and they relaxed a little. All of them said the same thing. Ed was a nice guy and had vanished before taking a smoke break the previous evening. None of them saw Ed with a customer or even a member of the staff. He’d simply went outside and disappeared.

  
As Dean watched them comfort each other, he saw one worker duck into the kitchen. He excused himself from the group and quickly followed. An elderly man in a chef’s uniform stood in the back, wringing his hands nervously. He quickly grabbed a container on hearing Dean’s footsteps.

  
“Excuse me. I’m Agent Collins. I need to ask you some questions about last night.”

  
The old man hesitantly turned around ‘accidently’ tossing the open salt container at Dean. Dean was now covered in salt but otherwise okay, and the old man said apologetically, “Sorry. You can’t just startle an old man like me. Not as nimble as I used to be.”

  
“Did you see anything strange happen here last night?” Dean asked somewhat irritably as he dusted off his suit. The old man seemed to think that he was a demon.  
“No, sir. I’m just one of the cooks. Chef Bradley is what they call me. I don’t deal directly with customers; I just make sure the kitchen is running smoothly,” the chef replied quickly.

  
“I think that you did see something, Chef,” Dean stated as he quickly closed the distance and stared down the old man. “And I think that you throwing salt at me was because you saw something last night that you can’t explain. A man died. Tell me everything even if you think it’s crazy.”

  
The old man looked at Dean sadly and fearfully before answering Dean, “Well, alright. I don’t expect you to believe me but… I do owe it to the kid. My mother grew up in Scotland, and she believed wholeheartedly in the Fair Folk. Fairies as you’d call ‘em. She’d tell my sisters and me stories of them. Some hopeful, but many were dark. I’d always believed that they were just… cautionary tales. Things you tell kids from going to dangerous places or talking to strangers.”

  
The chef smiled helplessly at Dean and continued, “I saw Ed. The Leanansidhe got him."

  
“The who?” Dean asked incredulously.

  
“The Leanansidhe. She lures in young men with passions and drains them of life, particularly those with talent in the arts. Normally she seduces them and leaves them to wither and die or go insane.”

  
“So what does she look like?”

  
“I didn’t see her. The only one who can see her is her victim. The Fair Folk use a ‘glamour’ to hide themselves from mortal eyes, but if you pay attention, you can smell them. The Leanansidhe smells of roses and lilies, but underneath the scent of flowers lurks the smell of blood.”

  
“How are you so sure? Did you see him walk away somewhere?”

  
“I was taking out the trash, and I heard him talking. He sounded happy, so I assumed that he was talking to Amy. She’s such a nice girl. Always helps out when she can. I walked over to say hello, but there was no one but Ed. He was talking to himself, looking like a love-struck fool. Then I smelled it. First it was lovely, and then the smell of blood hit me. And I ran,” the chef said with a look of shame.

  
“Why? I thought she only went for young, talented guys.”

  
The old man cast him a withering look before adding, “Yes. But she also kills men and uses their blood in her cauldron of youth. It’s how she stays young and beautiful.”  
Dean nodded slowly and wondered if he should trust the old man. They’d gotten crazier advice in worse places. As he thanked the chef, he took out his cell phone. He walked back out to the Impala before calling Sam; they had not one fairy problem but two. Thanks to Syd, their gung ho, little weirdness magnet.


	4. Sean, the Gancanagh

The sun was shining down as Sean walked up the street. The sting of the salt had slowly faded away. Uneasiness gripped Sean as he got closer to the house; he wondered how the girl had caught sight of him. He hadn’t used a glamour to hide himself, but even without the glamour most people didn’t even notice him unless he wanted them to do so. But that girl, Sydney, had somehow pinpointed him as the culprit even if she didn’t think he was. Was she a hunter? Not likely, or he’d have been shot dead.

He stood in front of the house as he contemplated what he was going to say. The Leanansidhe and he hadn’t talked in a long time. With some trepidation, Sean walked up to the door and knocked. A beautiful woman answered the door. Red hair, the color of fire, poured down to her shoulders, and glimmering green eyes stared at him in confusion before glistening with tears.

“My sweet!” the Leanansidhe cried out as she pulled him into an embrace.

Sean allowed himself to sink into her hug; the lilt of her voice gave him comfort. “Hello, Mother,” he whispered and kissed her cheek. She was just as he’d last seen her. Humans only saw her as what they desired, but the Fae could always recognize each other. They had fought over ten years ago, yet still here she was, playing the part of a human wife to a musician. This was the longest she’d ever been with a human, and it showed. Her passionate, fiery demeanor had grown soft. She looked like any other human housewife, and it filled him with sorrow.

“Come in! Come in! So what name are you going by now?”

“Sean,” he replied as he stepped inside. The stench of dark magic hit him immediately upon entering. It was almost suffocating. He knew that coming here was the right thing to do, before it was too late. His mother ran around tidying up the already clean living room as he walked deeper into the house.

“Mom, don’t you ever think about going home?” Sean asked her. If this was going to turn bad, there was no point in giving her false hope.

“Yes.” The Leanansidhe’s eyes grew dreamy before snapping back into reality. She looked at Sean warily and asked, “Why?”

“You’re not well, Mother. Even a human could sense the dark magic in here,” Sean said pleadingly as he reached out to her. “You’re sacrificing too many at a time. It’s going to attract the attention of the tribunal or even hunters.”

She moved away from him and bit her lip anxiously, but she quickly snapped back, “What about you? I heard about the little squabble you started with the humans. You went too far, and one of them even saw you, hurt you.” Her voice lost its edge as she argued.

“That’s why we need to go back to Avalon. You know what the human world does to us after a time. We need to go home,” Sean begged.

“No, not yet. He hasn’t agreed to come with me yet,” she responded desperately, and Sean felt a lump in his throat. “I was searching for so long. I finally found it… found him. I can’t leave him. I love him.”

Sean felt like his heart dropped right out of his chest. This was not good. No wonder she was slipping; the Fae were not like humans. Humans spoke of true love, but they could love time and time again. The Fae were capricious and hard to catch, but once they were in love, they were at their lover’s mercy. Procreating was different. Sean knew that he wasn’t created in a union of love. His mother had wanted a child and found a willing Fae. Falling in love with another Fae was dangerous, but loving a human was suicidal. Humans had a short lifespan, which the only way to circumvent was to bring them to Avalon, but it had to be willingly done. 

“I’ll go if he does. If he truly loves me, he’ll agree. And I won’t need the cauldron anymore. All I need is for you to keep those two hunters distracted for tonight.”

“Hunters?!”

“Yes, they seem to be friends with that girl you went after. Enchant her; distract them. My love will be home tonight, and when he agrees, we’ll go home.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Sean asked hesitantly.

“He will. That’s why I made those sacrifices. He’s now bound to me stronger than ever. The cauldron will ensure that.”

However, Sean wasn’t so sure. The cauldron had found his mother from the beginning. It had promised her anything she wanted for human blood. And she doubted that it’d be okay for them to leave without it, but he wanted to trust his mother.

“Okay, but if I get permanently blinded by salt, it’s your fault.”

“Oh, take this,” she said happily as she handed him a charm. “It makes us more resistant to salt. I still wouldn’t touch iron or silver though. Be careful, dear.”

He took it, and his mother gave him another hug. As he strode out the door, he looked back to see her smiling with joy. He waved goodbye and decided to fly back to the convention center. Syd was most likely there, and he needed to come up with his own plan. He didn’t trust the cauldron; it seemed to be influencing his mother somehow. For what purpose though? She had already given it what it desired. 

Sean shook his head as he floated above the clouds. He would do at least some of what his mother asked. He would certainly talk to Syd. The only question was: Would he ‘distract her’ or work with her?


	5. 'The Italian Tycoon's Blackmail Bride'

Birds flew chattering overhead as Lucifer relaxed in the sunlight flickering through the trees. Demons were currently turning the ranger’s house inside out, so Lucifer decided to take a walk to Syd’s cabin. The view was magnificent. He could easily see why they’d wanted to take their vacation here. The door to the cabin was locked; Lucifer smirked as he easily forced his way inside. Locks meant nothing to an angel.

  
As Lucifer walked inside the cabin, he looked around still smiling. The inside was just as he remembered except that the furniture was no longer acting as a blockade; everything was put neatly back in place. Lucifer briefly wondered if Syd had stayed behind to put everything back or if the owners had just done it. The state of her car had probably been enough to scare the owners into helping out. Two young girls getting attacked in your cabin isn’t a great way to get new reviews.

The place seemed to be completely cleaned. None of Syd’s many books were left on the floor. Lucifer walked around taking in the layout; he entered Syd’s room. No books were left behind here either. Not that Lucifer was really surprised as Syd seemed like the type to take inventory of her books.

A loud sigh escaped him. This was turning out to be more difficult than he’d thought it’d be. He walked back out the room and back into the living room when he noticed something.There was a single book left on the coffee table. ‘The Italian Tycoon’s Blackmail Bride’ was on the table with a piece of paper folded up inside. He picked up the book and removed the paper. It was a note:

“Hey there, Nick. We’ll hopefully be long gone by the time you see this, but Charlie wanted you to have the book. I guess for saving our lives. Although I do remember having a part in that too… So thanks, I guess. And you’re welcome. Your hero, Syd.”

There was a number at the bottom of the page with a heart drawn on it. Perhaps Syd did like him more than she let on. Lucifer took out his phone and dialed the number.

“Hello! You’ve reached the rejection hotline!” an automated voice answered the phone.

Lucifer stared at the phone for a few moments in horror before hearing a creak on the stairs. One of the demons had come to report what they’d found.

“Get out. Now,” Lucifer somehow managed to say calmly.

As the demon fled, Lucifer couldn’t hold it in any longer and started laughing. Full-bodied laughter rocked through him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this giddy. Somehow she always managed to surprise him. He’d decided to keep her as a pet once his minions found her. Before he’d only wanted to find her to test a theory, but now he remembered how much fun she was.

When Lucifer had touched Syd’s soul, for a few moments he had been more powerful than he’d been since the fall. Perhaps it was her belief in him that had made him stronger. After all his father was all about faith. Or perhaps it was just the contact with her soul that made him stronger. Whatever the reason, he’d decided that having Syd kept nearby would, at worst, entertain him.

“Excuse me!” he yelled with fake sweetness. The demon came running back inside. “So tell me the good news. What did you find?”

The demon showed him various spell books and replied, “This is all we found in the cabin. The Winchesters must have taken anything else.”

Lucifer quickly looked through the books, but the one that the boy had been using was still missing. Either the Winchesters or the ranger had it. The Winchesters wouldn’t use it due to that whole sacrificial business, but he had no idea what the ranger would do with it.

“Did you check everywhere?” Lucifer asked angrily.

“In those two cabins, yes. But would you like for us to check this one?”

“No, that’ll be all. Find the ranger. And Crowley.”

Crowley was a surprisingly giant pain for a demon. Most of the demons followed Lucifer’s orders without a second thought. However Crowley had tried to kill Lucifer a few times now, and Lucifer’s patience was nonexistent. Lucifer had considered keeping Crowley as his pet dog again, but now Lucifer would have Syd. Although he supposed that quite a few people owned both a dog and a cat.

“What about the girl? Sydney?” the demon asked.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and replied, “Yes. Of course. Capture Ranger Daniel and my escaped dog, but report Sydney’s whereabouts straight to me. I have a surprise for her.”

The demon left Lucifer to do his snooping. Besides the book, there was nothing else in the living room belonging to them. Sam and Dean had likely told them to completely clear the room of all of their things, which was making finding something of Syd’s far more difficult. Castiel had shielded her to keep him from finding her directly, but there were more roundabout ways. He briefly considered using the book, but it was given as gift and likely wouldn’t work. There had to be something more promising.

Unfortunately all Lucifer had on Syd was a description of what she looked like and her first name. She’d been on vacation to a fairly popular place, so even her location was ambiguous at best. Even just a last name would be useful at this point. Lucifer sat down on the couch and tried to remember if she had said anything that might give him a clue.

A demon walked to the door and waited for permission to speak. Lucifer waved him over to the couch.

“We found this at the scene. It could belong to the girl,” he said hesitantly. In his hand was a flower hair tie. “I found it outside the abandoned cabin.”

It was definitely not Syd’s; her hair was too short for a hair tie. Perhaps it could be Charlie’s. Lucifer couldn’t help but smile as he told the demon, “Well, I guess we should return it to its rightful owner.”


	6. The Red Cauldron

The convention center was even more crowded today. Syd looked around with her arms crossed. Sam had insisted that she go today and that he could finish the research without her. If Ren hadn’t been so depressed about Lucy being banned from this year’s convention, Syd would have refused, but Ren had also been really excited about the outfits they had made. They were missing their Ravenclaw, but they each wore a Hogwarts house themed lolita dress. 

Syd was wearing a Slytherin themed dress: a black blouse with a dark green underbust vest, a Slytherin themed tie, a black skirt, and black boots. As much as she loved her outfit, she thought about how embarrassing it would be for Sam and Dean to see her in it. Ren and Charlie were wearing similar outfit, so Syd felt a little better about it.

Standing out by the fountain, she waited for Ren and Charlie to meet up with her. They were still in a panel, but it’d hopefully be over soon. Syd watched the crowds hanging out by the fountain when she noticed a familiar face in the distance. He gave her a small wave and disappeared into the crowd. Texting Sam that she’d found the Gancanagh, she quickly followed him.

The plan was to follow him and try to limit the amount of damage until Dean could get there. Sam had given Syd a spell that should banish him, but they didn’t know if it would work. To give herself more time to get away, Syd also carried a small silver blade and more salt. The Gancanagh seemed to be more of an annoyance than a threat, so Sam had trusted her to keep him away from the other people and stall him. 

The Gancanagh was waiting for her in one of the gazebos on the edge of the forest. Quickly glancing around to survey her surroundings, Syd decided that it was safe. There   
weren’t any people close to the gazebo, but there were plenty of groups in the area. If he tried to attack her, she could easily alert enough people to make him back off.

Syd climbed the stairs but hesitated at the doorway. He seemed to notice her hesitation and smiled.

“I don’t bite, Sydney,” he said cheerfully, but his eyes watched her warily. “That is… if you don’t try to throw salt at me again.”

“As long as you stay over there, no problem,” Syd responded casually, but she held the bag of salt close and texted Sam that she was in a gazebo closest to the forest. 

The Gancanagh gave her a measuring look as she put away her phone but didn’t comment on it.

“So… what exactly do you want?” Syd asked coldly.

“I figured that there was a way we could help each other,” he said quickly, sensing the tension. “Your hunter friends are investigating a murder.”

“Yeah, and?”

“I have an offer. I can take the murderer to Avalon with me.”

“Somehow I’m failing to see just how that benefits anyone. You know, besides the murderer.”

“She won’t hurt anyone anymore. The Tribunal will make certain of that.”

Syd took a second to reflect on what this ‘Tribunal’ could be, and he actually did look scared.

“And why should I help? I knew Ed, that guy that was killed. We weren’t friends but… And what about what you did to Lucy? That’s her name, you know. The one who you charmed into fist fighting.” Syd glared at the Gancanagh, and even he seemed to be taken aback. 

“It’s not like I actually hurt her. She had a choice. I didn’t even cast a spell on her. You refused to do as I said. If I hadn't put a spell on you, you'd have run away. ”

“She’s not like me. I’m an ass. She’s trusting and caring and did not deserve what you did to her. You see, when you selfishly impose your will onto others and get them hurt, you don’t have the right to say what hurts them.”

He froze in shock, and Syd took a step back to leave the gazebo.

“Wait! Please!” he pleaded. “I didn’t realize the extent of what I did to your friend, but I can help you make sure that no one else gets hurt.”

“Then where’s the Leanansidhe?” Syd asked coldly.

“Please. It’s not her fault.”

“No? I can totally see how brutally stabbing someone would be an accident.”

The Gancanagh glared at Syd for a few second but then thought better of it.

“It’s the cauldron. It has some kind of strange hold over her; it has for a while now. When someone makes a sacrifice to it, the cauldron drains the person of blood. I think that’s part of its power source.” The Gancanagh looked at her with pleading eyes and continued, “I’m only asking for your help because I don’t think that it’ll let us leave otherwise. She’s my mother, Sydney. What would you do for yours?”

Syd wanted to stay mad at him. She wanted to just walk away and let him suffer, but the look on his face made her heart sink. Syd knew the pain of watching a loved one slowly lose their fight with an addiction. Judging by the tears in his eyes, he was feeling the same way.

“Alright. Theoretically how would we even get to the cauldron? What’s it look like? How would we even destroy it?”

“You have to destroy it from the inside with a mixture of salt and holy water. It’s a red cauldron, and it varies in size depending on how recent the sacrifice. I can lead you to it, but you’ll need to be extremely careful,” he replied and took a step towards her. 

She took a careful step back as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a blank scrap of paper.

“This has the address written on it, but it won’t appear until the sun starts to set. Tell your friends that any attempts to reveal the information before that will set it on fire,” he explained as he set it on a bench beside him. He turned and gracefully leapt out of the gazebo before running into the woods. 

Syd watched him disappear into the tree line. Picking up the paper, she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see both Sam and Dean hurrying to the gazebo.

“Oh, hey, fellas!” she greeted them with a relieved smile.


	7. Waifu for Dean

The paper didn’t seem to be anything special. Just a piece of notebook paper, Sam noted as he scrutinized the paper. Syd had talked to the Gancanagh, ‘Sean,’ and he had told her a sob story about the Leanansidhe. Although, the part about the cauldron was interesting, and if the story about it was true, then they’d have to be incredibly careful. 

“And you thought it was a good idea to meet him out here?!” Dean’s booming voice distracted Sam from his thoughts.

“Take a good look around! He wouldn’t tell me anything if there were people crowding around us, and look how close people are to here. And I was right, wasn’t I? Nothing happened. Can we just focus on the cauldron?”

Dean cleared his throat angrily at Sam, hoping for some back up, but Sam couldn’t help thinking that Syd was right. Dean must have noticed because he stopped and sighed.

“So… what did he say about using holy water against it?” Sam asked trying to shift the conversation forward.

“In it. With salt. The cauldron has to be destroyed from the inside, which makes sense.”

“Does it now?” Dean retorted incredulously.

“Yes, Dean,” Syd replied as she glared at Dean. “There’s an old Welsh tale about a cauldron that could bring the dead back to life. They couldn’t speak, and only the body was revived, not the soul. Sort of like zombies. The Irish were using it for battle to revive their dead soldiers. So one of the enemies hid among the bodies and was thrown inside the cauldron; his self-sacrifice destroyed it from within.”

“Oh! Kinda like in ‘The Black Cauldron’?” Dean exclaimed with a smile.

Dean and Syd then started chatting animatedly about ‘The Black Cauldron.’ Sam sighed. He really couldn’t keep up with their weird mood swings, but this was better than the bickering. At least they were getting along for the moment. He stashed the paper in his jacket pocket for safe keeping. 

“So why don’t I go see if I can do more research on this cauldron. And you guys go to the convention. This might be some sort of trap, so I’m going to see if there’s more on… destroying a magical cauldron. Dean, you go with Syd to make sure he isn’t just waiting for us to leave before coming back and snatching or bewitching some girl. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Truthfully, Sam really just wanted Dean to supervise Syd. Plus Dean tried to hide it, but Sam had caught him staring at the convention center. He seemed to be more interested that he’d admit, and since they didn’t really have much more to go on, Dean might as well have some fun.

“Okay then,” Dean said with a smirk. 

“No trolling for hentai, Dean,” ordered Syd with a smirk of her own.

“What?”

“Technical term for anime erotica. At first, it was just a joke, but based on your expression just now, I’m going to need to keep an eye on you.” 

Sam quickly turned his laugh into a cough as he watched Dean stare open-mouthed at Syd with indignation. As Sam looked away to laugh discreetly, Sam saw a familiar face coming toward them.

“Hey, Sam! Dean!” Charlie greeted them with a smile, while the girl following behind her eyed Sam and Dean warily. Charlie, Syd, and the other girl seemed to be coordinating costumes. Hogwarts houses by the look of the dresses.

Sam smiled at Charlie as the other girl introduced herself as Ren.

“Hey, guys! We have a new member to our group. This is Dean, and we need to find him a ‘waifu’,” Syd said cheerfully as Dean glared at her with confusion.

“A what?!” 

As Ren and Syd started explaining, Sam gestured to Charlie to walk a little ways from the others. They walked a bit away before Sam asked, “Have you noticed anything strange about Syd’s behavior lately? Our friend Castiel says that we should keep an eye out for her. Not many people have had the devil touch their soul. I just want to make sure that she’s okay.”

Charlie nodded with a sad look as though remembering the time in the cabin. “Well, not really strange. She’s got a bit more energy lately, but that’s about it. Wait… I did notice something during the… when Lucy started fighting that other girl. Syd immediately zoned in on that guy by the fountain. I saw him too but only for a few seconds. After she ran outside, I followed behind her to make sure that she was okay.” Charlie trailed off as she glanced at Syd with a worried expression.

“And then what?”

Charlie turned back to Sam and replied, “I could see him before when he was out by the fountain, but I only heard Syd. And when I peeked around the side of the building, I only saw Syd. Can fairies do that?”

“Yes,” Sam reassured Charlie. “Sometimes humans can only see the fairies if they’re a target. Don’t worry. Dean will be with you guys for a little while.”

“Is that a real thing?” Dean exclaimed.

Sam looked over to see Dean’s slightly horrified expression, while Ren and Syd exchanged an exchanged an impish grin.

“Oh geez. They’re going to drive him crazy,” Charlie said exasperatedly. 

“What’s a ‘waifu’?” Sam asked hesitantly, but Charlie just shook her head. Perhaps it would be better to not know, Sam decided.

Sam waved goodbye to Charlie, Syd, and Ren as they turned to walk into the convention center. Dean followed behind them and gave Sam a look of desperation.


	8. Mc and Mac

People were chattering all around Dean, and some were even dancing in costume with a conga line led by another guy in a Deadpool costume. Syd was getting a day pass for Dean from one of her friends; luckily they had an extra. Dean smiled as a scantily clad woman in armor walked past him with a wink. He took a second look at her before Syd came running back. 

“Hey, Casanova! Come on! Charlie and Ren already went to the Dealer Room,” Syd said as she dragged Dean along excitedly.

The Dealer room was really more of an auditorium than a room. Each section was filled with different things. Art, clothing, books, and posters filled the room. Dean was actually amazed by the amount of people in the room. Syd’s friend Ren had found them and walked over with a fake sad look on her face.

“Sorry, Dean. I didn’t see any pillows for you. Darn! Well, maybe we can find some sexy figurines in the back,” Ren said as her frown slowly changed into a smirk. Syd laughed, and Dean shot them a look.

“So where’s Charlie?” 

“She went to look at the alpaca plushies. Stuffed animals,” Ren elaborated after seeing the confused look on Dean’s face. 

“Oh cool. Look, Dean! You might like this booth,” Syd said excitedly as she tapped Dean’s arm and pointed to a booth.

Dean rolled his eyes, expecting a booth with a scantily clad anime girl, but Syd was pointing to a weapons booth. As Dean got closer, he saw different kinds of blades, even a Batman themed switchblade. 

“We’re going to get Charlie. Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes?”

“Ok, sure. No problem. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find you a ‘husbandu.’” Dean smirked at Syd, and she rolled her eyes at his joke.

“No, Dean. Just no,” Syd replied and disappeared with Ren into the crowd.

Dean went back to looking at the knives. They were really expensive, and if Sam ever found out that he’d bought something, he’d probably never hear the end of it. Still the broadsword looked pretty cool.

“Having fun, are we?” a familiar voice spoke up from behind Dean.

Dean turned to see Crowley standing behind him. Glancing in the direction where the girls had went, Dean pulled Crowley to a less crowded area.

“What are you doing here, Crowley?!” Dean whispered angrily. 

“Just picking up some items. For my collection, you know,” Crowley said sarcastically with a smirk.

Dean glared at him before replying, “That’s not an answer.”

“Well, word on the street is that Lucifer’s on the lookout for your new little friend.”

“He is? Why?”

“Good question, Dean. And I, for one, would like to know the answer.” Crowley’s eyes pierced into Dean’s until Dean looked away.

“I know she has some of his grace inside of her, Dean. I can practically feel it. You’re lucky that no other demons have found you, or her, yet,” Crowley whispered back to Dean. “Eventually they will. And what happens when Lucifer finds his missing piece?”

“We’re working on it,” Dean said sternly as he squared his shoulders and stood straighter. “And what exactly do you mean by that? What do you think Lucifer’s going to do with her?”

“Lucifer’s vessel is stable, which means his grace isn’t strong enough to burn through his new meat suit, but now part of his grace is in a soul, which is basically pure energy. So what exactly do you think he’ll do with her, Dean?”

“So he could use Syd’s soul to power up. Crap. Do you know any way to remove the grace?”

“No, and I’m guessing Castiel has no idea either. So here’s an idea: take your lovely, little abomination, and keep her locked away and out of Lucifer’s grip.”

“So he knows? About the grace. He’s looking for her, right?”

“Yes, but currently he just wants her as a pet, according to my sources,” Crowley said, and Dean scoffed at his sources. “Look, as Lucifer’s previous ‘pet’ I can assure you that it is not fun. And I’m a demon. Torture, being tortured, it’s what I do. And do you really think Lucifer won’t notice his own grace, so once he’s got her, it’s game over for us.”

Dean quickly texted Cas the new information. If Lucifer was out looking for her, then the only safe place for her would be the bunker, and how were they supposed to talk her into hiding out there? Any normal person with Lucifer after them would go into hiding willingly, but Syd seemed to enjoy making Dean’s life even more complicated than it already was. 

“Dean? Who’s that? Made a new friend?” Syd came walking out from behind a stall with a bag in her hand. 

“Hello, darling. The name’s Crowley. Dean and I are old friends,” Crowley replied with a smirk.

“Okay then. Well, I’m Syd.” She seemed wary of Crowley and had clearly sensed that something was off.

“Hey, Mac!” a guy in a red power ranger suit said as he walked over to where they stood. “You being questioned by the Men in Black?”

“Hey, Jay. Nope, I’m good. Thanks though. Good to know a ranger’s got my back,” Syd replied cheekily.

Jay laughed and asked, “Where’s Mc, your other half?”

“Ah, Mc and Charles went to do the karaoke thing… contest,” Syd corrected herself.

“Oh, cool. I’ll head over there later,” the red ranger said as the other rangers called for him. “See you around, Mac.”

“See you!” Syd turned and met Dean’s eyes. “I do have other friends, Dean.”

“Mc and Mac?” Dean asked incredulously. “You guys a buddy cop team?”

“Haha. You’re just so funny. Ren’s last name is McClare. Mine’s MacLeod, so we’re Mc and Mac.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up as he took in her last name. He glanced at Crowley as Syd looked at a T-shirt on the rack. Crowley looked as though he wasn’t breathing as he stared at Syd. Syd was focused on the clothes and didn’t even notice Crowley disappear. Dean wondered briefly if Syd was related to Crowley. They both seemed to enjoy antagonizing people, but Dean decided that it didn’t make much of a difference for now. 

He walked over to Syd and put on a wizard hat. Syd looked up and laughed in surprise. Dean chuckled along with her, and she led Dean in a new search for food.


	9. Betrayal

Sean slowly walked up his mother’s street. Deliberately taking his time, he admired the sunset; he didn’t want to get there too early. It would take the hunters at least another ten minutes to get here. The house was not too far from the convention center; it wouldn’t take them long. Syd would be the only one who could read it properly, thus ensuring that they’d bring her along. 

His mother’s house was just a few houses away now. He stopped to admire it from a distance. His mother had really changed after falling for a human. Sean guessed that this particular house had been the man’s idea. The Leanansidhe was a Fae, and they embraced nature over human comfort. However, the garden in the backyard was her idea. To a human it just seemed like a random collection of plants, but each of them carried a special meaning to his mother. The Blackthorne tree was her favorite, and a large one grew in the backyard and called to him. 

It was still sinking in for Sean. She had been the one to teach him not to get too close to humans, how dangerous the human world could be for their kind, and how deadly it would be for them to fall in love. Now here she was, not listening to any of her advice. And here he was, in the middle of all of this mess.

Deciding that he had waited long enough, he walked up to the house. The hunters would be there soon, and they may need to flee if the cauldron caused any more bloodshed. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Twisting the doorknob, he found the front door to be unlocked. He could go inside. After all, he had been invited inside already, but he felt an odd sense of dread. Realizing that the hunters could be there at any moment, he quietly opened the door and closed it gently behind him as he entered. Everything was quiet, which put him on edge. He looked around the living room; nothing seemed to be disturbed. Sean let out a gasp as he noticed a man’s bloody handprint on the wall.

Throwing on a glamour, he quickly ran through the house. The rooms were clean, pristine even, until he got to the bedroom. His mother was on the floor; blood had soaked through part of her shirt. She was gripping her side with one of her hands and wincing in pain. Sean ran to her and fell to the floor, ripping the sheet from the bed to wrap her wounds. The Leanansidhe gently put her other hand on his face with a heartbroken, teary eyed expression.

“The cauldron wasn’t just talking to me,” she whispered to him.

Grief gave way to rage as he realized what must have happened. His mother’s musician stabbed her for the cauldron. Its promised riches were more important to him than the woman he loved. His mother’s wound was still fresh; he couldn’t have gotten far. Sean realized that there had been an additional car in the driveway. Music man was still here.

A creak from beyond the doorway alerted Sean to another presence, and Sean drew a knife from his boot. He wasn’t going to die without a fight. As the footsteps neared the doorway, he heard the front door slam open.

“Sam! Dean! There’s a guy covered in blood about to drive away!”

An engine roared from outside, and someone cursed and ran back outside as the other one quickly looked inside the room. He stood there in shock for a few seconds, and Sean saw Syd’s face enter his view. Syd gasped and ran over to Sean’s mother’s side.

“Sam, go with Dean! I can help here.”

Sam quickly nodded and ran to help Dean, and Syd turned to Sean.“Did you call 911 yet? She needs a doctor.”

“No!” exclaimed Sean. “A human doctor can’t save her right now. There’s a spell that might, but I don’t have the ingredients.”

“Can you get them?”

“Yes, but…”

“I’ll stay here. I have basic first aid training, but I’m no miracle worker. I’ll just keep applying pressure. Go! Now!”

Sean watched Syd for a moment. Her small hands were firmly on the sheet holding it in place. Quickly, Sean ran outside to the backyard and looked around for what he needed. Knowing his mother, there’d be most, if not all, of the ingredients in the garden or in the supply shed. He found the pot marigolds first. Their deep orange color called out to him fiercely, and he used his knife to retrieve them.

The Echinacea were harder to find, but their pink petals soon gave them away. Sean whispered a quick apology to the plant before pulling it out of the ground and harvesting its roots. The rest of the ingredients became easier to find. The St. John’s wort grew between the Ash and the Blackthorn trees. He grabbed the Aloe Vera plant off of the deck before he went inside the supply shed.

There had been a metal bowl in the supply shed, and Sean hoped it was at least somewhat heat resistant. He placed the ingredients into the bowl and raced back to his mother’s side. His mother was looking paler, which worried him. As he quickly recounted the ingredients in his head, he realized with horror that he’s forgotten one.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need a four leaf clover, but I don’t know if I can find one in time,” Sean panicked and looked at Syd to see her going through a small bag tied around her neck. She pulled out a four leaf clover and handed it to him. 

“What?” Syd asked in response to his shock. “It was part of a charm. To fight the fairies, you need to be able to see them.”

Sean quickly thanked her before adding it to the bowl. He took the twigs from the Ash and Blackthorn trees and set them on fire before adding them to the bowl. He muttered a quick spell to quicken the process while cutting the Aloe Vera. As the plants became ash, Sean added in the aloe to cool the mixture.

His mother’s eyes were closed, and she was clearly in pain. Sean quickly drew the runes while muttering the incantation. Nuin, he drew on her left hand, and on her right he drew Straif. On her forehead, he drew the sigil Fearn and completed the incantation. His mother drew a quick breath as the spell took hold. Letting out a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes to look at Sean then closed them to sleep. Sean took off the sheet to reveal a bright red wound, but the bleeding had stopped. 

Sean lifted his mother and gently placed her on the bed. His eyes met Syd’s to see a look of wonder and relief. Then her gaze shifted to the window, and she walked toward it. The Blackthorn and Ash trees were dying. Already they were losing their leaves. Sean regretted that it was necessary, but it was a small price to pay for his mother’s life.

“Life comes with a price, I suppose,” Syd mused.

Sean felt something odd as he briefly lost his self-control for a moment and enclosed Syd in a hug.


	10. The Leanansidhe

The two trees in the Leanansidhe’s backyard looked completely dead now. After an awkward exchange following the hug, Sean had excused himself, and Syd had gone back to looking out of the window.

“Thank you,” a lilting voice spoke distracting Syd from her thoughts.

Syd turned back to look at the Leanansidhe resting on the bed. A beautiful housewife was not what Syd had been expecting. While the woman was no doubt gorgeous, she didn’t look like a seductress. In fact, she looked almost human. Syd continued staring at the woman with cold eyes and said nothing.

“I can see that you don’t like me. You don’t approve of what I’ve done. You have such cold eyes,” the Leananside said tiredly. “I used to look at humans with eyes like yours. Anger, distrust, disgust but now mostly just envy. I did what I did out of love, but I suppose that’s still not much of an excuse for you.”

“Would it be for you?” Syd asked with tranquil fury. “Ed… was an idiot, but he was a good person. He didn’t deserve what he got… what you did to him.”

The Leanansidhe sighed, but she didn’t seem to be feeling even slightly guilty. Syd felt her fists clench as she fought the urge to throw a punch. 

“It’s different for us, Fair Folk, the Fae. Love is far more powerful to us than humans, and once we’re hooked we’ll do just about anything to get a fix. But you are right, which is why I’m going to let the Tribunal find me. I deserve their judgment, not yours. I should never have let the cauldron influence me; I can see that clearly now.” The Leanansidhe looked sincerely sorrowful and possibly even remorseful. 

Syd watched her for a moment. The Leananside seemed to be genuine, but that could be a trick. 

“I can see that my boy is fond of you though,” the Leanansidhe commented, and Syd felt her body stiffen.

“Anybody would be grateful in that situation. You’re reading too much into it,” Syd spoke up irritably, feeling her face get hot in embarrassment. 

“Ah,” the Leanansidhe said as though thinking about something else. “Although… you’re a bit different for a human. I can’t describe it, but you feel off. No offense,” the Leanansidhe amended with a cheeky smile.

Syd could feel her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise but closed it quickly. She had heard a little of Dean and Crowley’s conversation. The Leanansidhe may be able to tell her more, but it could just be a ruse to get more information. Eventually, curiosity beat caution into submission, and Syd asked, “How much do you know about souls?”

“Human souls? Not a lot. I don’t have much use for them,” the Leanansidhe replied before her eyes went wide. “Is that what’s wrong with you? Something’s wrong with your soul?”

Syd instantly regretted asking and considered waiting outside for Dean to come back.

“Ah! I can see it! You have a bit of angel in you. Wow, how did that happen?” The Leanansidhe’s response sounded way too excited for Syd’s liking, but it gave her some hope.

“You’ve seen it before?”

“Oh, no, love. But once you mentioned it, I figured out where to look. Angels are made from a different kind of magic than us, but we know how to look for them.”

“So do you have any idea how to fix it?”

“Nope. You’re on your own there,” the Leanansidhe replied cheerfully. “Killing you may separate the grace but probably not, and I doubt that’s something you’d want to try.”

“Yeah, no. That’s not going to work for me,” Syd retorted with deadpan annoyance, looking at her buzzing phone. Sam was calling. “Hello?”

“We lost him. We’re on Lampright Street. He must have turned somewhere.”

“Do you know anyplace on or near Lampright Street?” Syd asked the Leanansidhe. 

The Leanansidhe seemed to think for a moment before hesitantly replying, “His studio is near there. On Park Avenue and Citrus Drive.”

Syd quickly relayed the information to Sam.

“Okay. We’ll check it out. Stay there and stay safe. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Sam said then hung up.

Syd put her phone away and saw the Leanansidhe still staring at her.

“Um, yes?”

“Perhaps I could help if I know more. How did it happen?”

Syd sighed but replied, “I made a deal with an angel. He could touch my soul if he helped me save my friend. Do you know anyone who might be able to help me?”

“Perhaps,” the Leanansidhe paused as she heard a knock at the front door. She shook her head for Syd not to get the door before she continued. “There’s a leprechaun who claims to have some knowledge of human souls. The last alias he used was ‘Wayne Whittaker.’ Your hunters will know him; they made a fool out of him years ago,” the Leanansidhe said with a cat-like grin. “He should have listened to me. Such a stubborn one.”

A man in a black suit appeared in the open window, scaring Syd; he gave Syd a cold brief glance before turning his attention back to the Leanansidhe. “You have been summoned. The Tribunal is waiting for you.”

“Very well,” the Leanansidhe muttered before carefully rising from the bed.

A door slammed, and soon Sean came running into the room. The Leanansidhe raised her hand and gave him a small smile.

“No more running. I need to do this, love. I’m sorry.”

Sean looked at his mother with a look of heartbreak before replying, “Then I’ll go with you.”

“No. I need you here. The cauldron is still out there. Please, they may need your guidance. Help me right what I did wrong.”

The man in the suit spoke up, “Destroying the cauldron before the council has to interfere may help your mother’s case as well.”

The Leanansidhe kissed her son on the cheek and whispered something to him. Sean stiffened, and his mother gave him a small, sad smile. The man in the suit grabbed her arm, and they disappeared.

Syd watched Sean carefully. His eyes were still wide, but he slowly recovered. 

“So where exactly did your boys go?”


	11. Lonely Lucifer

        What a quaint, little house, Lucifer thought as he took a seat and waited for his demons to finish searching the place. They had cast a spell to reveal the location of the hair tie’s owner. Lucifer picked up a photo frame; it was the other girl from the cabin. She had been somewhat hidden from him during the ordeal, but he recognized her. It wasn’t a direct lead to Syd, but it was something. Unfortunately, the girl had gotten a heads up from someone or something and fled.

        Lucifer leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. All of this effort just to find one human. Castiel must have put enchantments, or wards, on them. Silently cursing Castiel, he took a deep breath and started to plan what to do next. The ringing of a phone interrupted his thoughts, and a demon came running into the room holding a house phone.

        “Hello, Lucifer speaking,” Lucifer said lazily into the phone.

        “What do you want?!” Abbiejean asked furiously.

        “Easy there. Just to talk. You didn’t have to run off like that. I just need to ask you a few questions. That’s all.”

        “I know it has something to do with that girl from the cabin.”

        “Yes, you clever girl. So what do you want in exchange? Money? More magic?”

        “Nothing because I’m not going to help you.”

        “Oh dear, Abbie,”” Lucifer said after finding a piece of her mail on the table. “It’s really best if you do. I can and I will find you, and then I’ll get my answers one way or another. You don’t even know the girl. Why protect her?”

        “Why are you after her? If she hadn’t risked her life, we’d all be dead, including you. Don’t you owe her?”

        Lucifer was taken aback. Why was it so important that he find her? Sure, she was entertaining, but why was he trying so hard? Perhaps it was his pride.

        “I don’t owe anyone. I was the one who did the heavy lifting. Syd did help though; I’ll give her that. As to why… Well, I felt that we bonded during our harrowing experience, so I just need her number. Is that such a bad thing to give me?”

        “Well, besides it being creepy, I don’t even have her number. She only gave her number to the Winchesters. I have nothing to say to you.”

        The phone call ended, and Lucifer gave it back to the demon.

        “Were you able to find her?”

        “Yes, we were able to track her location. We’ve sent some people to pick her up now.”

        Lucifer waved the demon away while smiling to himself.

        After a few minutes, the demon’s phone rang, and he turned to talk quietly into the phone, catching Lucifer’s interest. That wasn’t a good sign. The demon hung up and took a deep breath.

        “Something wrong?” Lucifer asked in a singsong voice.

        “Her phone was on a ski lift. They found it not long after the call ended. She should still be in the area; they’ll find her.”

        “You should hope so,” Lucifer warned and watched the demon shudder. “But what bothers me is… how did she know that we were coming in the first place?”

        “Maybe she had a spell to warn her?”

        “Maybe,” Lucifer replied as he stood. Snatching back the house phone from its holder, he looked through the phone’s history. There had been a call two hours before the they had arrived; that was more than enough time to pack and leave. He pressed the number to redial, but it went straight to a recording that the voicemail box for this number hadn’t been set up. He went back into the phone’s history. There had been a call from another phone a few days prior from another unrecognized number. Lucifer pressed the call button again, expecting the phone to go to another unused voicemail account.

        “Hey, AJ. It’s Sam. We’re on a case right now, so can I call you back?” Sam Winchester answered the phone.

        Lucifer smiled at his good fortune before replying, “Hey there, Sammy. Sure, I understand. You can call back anytime. You have such a busy schedule.”

        The phone went dead silent for a moment, and Lucifer thought that Sam may have hung up the phone.

        “Lucifer! What did you do with AJ?!” Sam breathed angrily into the phone.

        “Nothing. She’s safe from me… for now. I was really hoping to speak with Syd. You know, get the cabin party back together. We didn’t even have a single board game. Oh, I know! You could just give me her number, and I’ll do the rest. Since you’re just oh so busy.”

        Lucifer could hear the brothers whispering but couldn’t catch any of the words.

        “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sam responded into the phone.

        “Why not? You have my word that no harm will come to her while she is under my protection.”

        “How about I give Syd this number after we finish up here, and she’ll give you a call?”

        “That doesn’t really work for me,” Lucifer said while gesturing to a demon to trace the call. Having demons in law enforcement was really a great advantage.

        Suddenly the line went dead. Either Sam had hung up on him, or the Winchesters were in deep trouble. Knowing them, it could be either. Lucifer looked to the demon; the demon’s face paled with dread.

        “Don’t tell me that he didn’t stay on the line long enough,” Lucifer growled.

        “It’s not that! We can trace a phone even after the call, but the Winchesters use prepaid devices.”

        “And?”

        “Those are more difficult to track. We’ll find them!” the demon amended quickly under Lucifer’s glare.

        Lucifer considered killing him, but the demon was rather useful. He waved the demon away, and the demon quickly left and started dialing on his phone. Lucifer sat back down and tried to relax. It was taking far longer than it should, but he was on the right track. One thing that bothered him was that Sam hadn’t asked why he was looking for Syd. Perhaps he thought Lucifer was just being petty, or maybe he knew something that Lucifer didn’t.

        Lucifer casually looked around the living room. There were still demons checking around the house for clues as to where ‘AJ’ had gone. They all gave Lucifer a wide berth. There were demons that admired him, even worshiped him, but most seemed just terrified of him. Syd hadn’t been frightened of him, even after he revealed to her that he was an angel. She had just pressed on with deadpan determination. And she had trusted him with her soul.

        Admittedly there really hadn’t been much of a choice. Was that why he wanted to find her? After his father had abandoned him yet again, was he feeling lonely? Lucifer scoffed at the thought. The devil was never lonely. He leaned back in the chair and let the demons do his dirty work.


	12. Faeries, Souls, and Lucifer, oh my!

Sam and Dean were on the way back to the Leanansidhe’s house. By the time they had gotten to the studio, there had only been the musician’s car outside the building and a dead body on the inside. Sam assumed that it was a member of the band due to the dead guy’s attire. The musician’s car was still outside, so he must have stolen his former friend’s ride.

Sam took a large breath trying to maintain calm, but there was a lot going wrong. Lucifer was getting closer to finding Syd. There was a man on the loose with a blood-thirsty, magical cauldron. Hopefully AJ was safe. She had called Dean from a burner after getting rid of her old phone, and she wasn’t in Lucifer’s grasp yet. Sam just hoped that Cas could get to her before the demons did.

Dean was silent the entire ride, but Sam could tell that he was deep in thought. Sam wondered how long they could keep Syd safe. Lucifer had gotten really close this time. If it hadn’t been for Mrs. Moseley, a psychic friend of their father’s, and AJ’s quick thinking, AJ would already be captured, and it would have taken more than Sam throwing out his old phone to keep Lucifer out of the loop.

“Hey,” Dean said quietly.

“Yeah?” Sam asked, a little startled by Dean’s interruption of his thoughts.

“Do you think… Should we ask Syd to come to the bunker? That was a really close call. We probably won’t get that lucky next time.”

Sam was surprised. Dean hated getting more people involved with them, especially after what happened with Charlie. Charlie had been a friend of theirs, almost like a sister to them, but she had died after finding a way to free Dean from a curse. Dean had just barely been able to forgive Sam for her death, but Sam knew that Dean still blamed himself for her death. Even Sam was having a hard time living with the guilt, and he was better at coping than Dean. But Dean was right. How else could they make sure Lucifer didn’t find Syd.

“I’d agree with that. There is a problem though. A furry, little problem.”

“A what?”

“When Syd and I were waiting for you to come back with Charlie at the cabin, we talked for a while, and she showed me some pictures of her cat.”

“So you think she’ll refuse a hiding place with the Devil himself chasing her… for a cat?”

“You didn’t see the way her eyes lit up when she talked about it. It was almost like she was a different person.”

Dean nodded but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t a big fan of animals and was actually allergic to cats, but Sam couldn’t really find any other surefire way to keep Syd out of harm’s way. They finally pulled back up to the house. From the outside it looked serene, but Sam had seen the wounded Leanansidhe. 

Sam and Dean walked back into the house to see Syd sitting on the couch with papers piled up on the coffee table in front of her and on the rest of the couch beside her.

“You going to jail,” Dean said teasingly.

“Mail was already opened, but… I’m not actually sure if that makes a difference. And you going to turn me in? Ha!” retorted Syd impishly. “Sean went for a walk… to clear his head, I think. The Fairy FBI took the Leanansidhe.” Syd looked incredibly tired.

“So he just ran off?” Dean asked irritably.

“I’m sure he’ll be back, Dean. The suit implied that his mother might get a lighter sentence if the cauldron is destroyed.”

“Oh, okay then,” Dean finished somewhat awkwardly. He was clearly still thinking about their conversation in the car.

“I… talked to her before she left,” Syd said while staring at them.

“What’d she say?” Sam asked as he felt a twinge of dread.

“That there’s something wrong with… my soul,” Syd said uncertainly, looking up at Sam with worry. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Sam felt a twinge of guilt and turned to look at Dean. Dean had looked away; no doubt he felt that he was to blame. Sam also felt guily but could rationalize it better. Dean tended to just internalize any blame and let it eat away at him. Sam sighed as he turned back to Syd to see her glowering at them.

“What?” Sam asked confused by the extreme mood shift.

“You’re idiots! The both of you are just… idiots!” Syd shouted angrily.

Dean was now looking at Syd with remorse. Sam opened his mouth to defend his brother and himself but stopped when Syd’s expression went from angry to just purely heartbroken.

“Why the hell are you feeling guilty for my decision? Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly, incredibly grateful for all of the help you’ve given me, but if you’re doing it because you think that you’re to blame, then stop,” Syd said, surprising Sam and Dean. “I’m not a child and especially not an idiot. Lucifer didn’t lie to me or trick me; I knew what was at risk. And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t do it for you. I figured that I would die either way, so why not spite that little troll? And even so, it was my decision to make, not yours.”  
Sam and Dean were quiet for a moment. Sam knew that his brother still probably felt guilty, but he didn’t look so beaten down. 

“Wait. How did she know about your soul? Could she sense it?” Dean asked and gave Sam a look. They had once dealt with a leprechaun that had noticed Sam’s soul was missing years ago. The leprechaun had even offered to retrieve Sam’s soul from Lucifer’s cage. Sam hadn’t taken the deal, and Sam did get his soul back eventually. But Sam and Dean still wondered if the Leprechaun had been telling the truth about his abilities.

“Yeah, she’d noticed somehow, but I also heard you talking to Crowley.”

Sam’s eyes widened, and he noticed that Dean’s body had stiffened. No doubt what Crowley had said hadn’t been very gentle. 

“What did you hear?” Sam asked gently.

“Just the fact that Lucifer is after me… oh, and I’m an ‘abomination.’”

Sam winced, but Syd seemed to state it frankly. 

“Lucifer is after you. The safest place for you right now is our bunker. It’s warded heavily, and he won’t be able to get you. You can even bring your cat, but it stays in your room,” Dean finished with a look of slight embarrassment.

Syd looked at them for a few seconds before her face became a scowl.

“It’s not because we feel guilty. We just want to help, and Lucifer getting ahold of you wouldn’t be good for us either,” Sam added quickly. “Let’s work together to figure this thing out.”

Syd nodded, looking appeased. 

Sam felt relieved but remembered that there was still a murderous musician on the loose. He asked Syd, “Did you find anything?”

“Yeah, a little. His name is Randy Murklid, and he’s a lead singer. There’s not really much to go on here; he pretty much lived on the road. But I haven’t checked the computer yet.”

“On it,” Sam replied as he stretched before he got to work.


	13. Finding Randy

Sam was still hammering away at the computer and getting frustrated by the look of it. Dean and Syd had been combing through the rest of the house to try to find where ‘Randy’ had went. Besides a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings of Randy’s band, they hadn’t found anything useful. Sam sighed and scratched his head before turning to Dean with a look of irritation. 

“Nothing. He must have erased his history or maybe even not even used it. I see searches that our Leanansidhe probably looked up, but nothing points to where he might have gone,” Sam said heatedly. 

“Or he could have just used an ‘incognito window,’” Syd said as she flipped through the scrapbook. “It automatically deletes the browser history when you close the window.”  
Dean turned to look at Syd and replied, “And just how do you know what that is?”

“We were all teenagers once, Dean,” Syd said solemnly before smiling. “Just kidding. I look up a lot of weird searches like ‘Why is my cat licking a plastic bag,’ which I don’t really like to be reminded of at a later date.”

Dean chuckled before turning back to Sam. “So what next? Do we have any information about his band mates? He killed one; he might decide to take out the others before disappearing.”

“Um, well, I think that one was personal,” Syd replied and held up a picture of the band. Randy and his victim were side-by-side and smiling, but their body language seemed really stiff. “Those two get like that every time they were photographed next to each other. But I also found this.” 

Syd showed them another photo of the victim, but this time he was standing next to the Leanansidhe. There was a giddy smile on his face, and his arm was around her shoulders. 

“That’s not good,” Dean said as he took a look at the photo.

“Of course, this is all just speculation. But I don’t think he’ll be going after his other band members unless they’re easy targets… which they really don’t appear to be.”

“Damn, and we’re back at square one,” murmured Dean.

“Not quite,” a voice said from the doorway. Sean walked back through the door closing the door behind him. “I may have a little spell that will reveal the location of the cauldron. No luck on finding the musician, but odds are if we find the cauldron, we find him.”

“Whoa there! If we let you help us, no murdering Randy. You said yourself that the cauldron causes a murderous rampage,” Dean cautioned.

Sean gave him a cold look but agreed, “Yes, I did say that. Fine. But I can’t guarantee that the Tribunal won’t come for him.”

“If the ‘Faerie FBI’ comes for him, we won’t get in the way,” Sam promised Sean. “We just want to make sure that no one else gets hurt.”

Sean shrugged and set a bag on the floor. He started to take out supplies and set them aside. Dean heard a loud bang on the porch outside and turned to see Syd trying to bring in a lawn table. 

“What the hell, Syd?” Dean asked as he walked over to help her bring the table inside. 

“I figured it might be easier for him to use this. Plus it appeared to be lighter than the coffee table,” replied Syd casually. 

“It does,” Sean answered. “Make it easier, I mean.” 

Syd smirked at Dean smugly as they brought it closer to where Sean was working. 

“All I need now is a map of the surrounding area. He hasn’t gone that far. I can still sense the cauldron, although I can’t pinpoint its direction.”

Sam printed a map from the computer as Sean mixed the ingredients. Dean watched Sean for a moment; the faerie seemed to know what he was doing. Suddenly Sean grabbed a knife and walked down the hall into the bedroom. He came back with part of a bed sheet soaked in blood.

“Blood of a previous user,” Sean explained to Syd, Sam, and Dean, but he looked at Syd when talking.

Dean felt a weird tension in the room and wondered what had happened when Sam and Dean left to chase after Randy. Syd didn’t seem love-struck or scared of the Gancanagh, but it seemed to be more awkward in the room. Dean turned to give Sam a look, and Sam met his eyes. Sam had clearly noticed it too. 

Sean was almost done with the spell and had candles lit with runes carved into them on the four corners of the table. As he spoke, the flames trickled down from the candles like wax, and the fire lined the map paper like a border. Dean noticed that it looked similar to the spell they had used to find the mystical first blade and relaxed a little. Sean finished the incantation and simply said, “Find the cauldron of desire.” 

With those words the fire rose and fell then began to circle the paper seeming to close in on a corner of the paper. The rest of the paper had burned, leaving a small circle of the map. Sam typed in the location, and Dean heard a small laugh.

“Sorry,” Syd apologized. “That area’s basically a ghost town. A lot of the buildings used to be used for storage, but now it’s mostly abandoned. I was just thinking that you guys may have to fight a ghost now too.”

“Great!” Dean whispered before reflecting on what she had said. “’You guys’, huh? So does that mean you’re too afraid to come with us?”

“Not at all. Ren and I like to go ghost hunting in our spare time.”

“Of course you do.”

“But I figured that it’d be smarter for me to pack up, so we can go to the bunker when this is over. We don’t have a lot of time, do we?” Syd asked quietly.

“No, not really,” Sam replied gently.

Dean noticed Sean giving them a curious look, but Sean appeared to decide to keep his opinions to himself. Probably for the best, Dean supposed.

“So ‘you guys’ go take care of business, and I’ll get a ride back with Charlie,” Syd said taking her phone out of a small pocket on her dress. 

Dean and Sam hesitated. Her attitude felt odd, but she was right. They didn’t really have a lot of time. Outside it was getting dark, and they didn’t really know how much time they had bought by tossing Sam’s burner. Sam and Dean walked outside and got into the Impala. Dean saw that Sean was standing outside but making no move to get inside the car.

“Well, get inside, fairy boy. We don’t have all day,” Dean called over and was met with a withering look.

“I’ll just meet you there,” Sean announced as he disappeared.

Dean rolled his eyes and drove off. As he pulled away, he saw Syd in the rearview mirror, waiting outside for her ride.

“We had to leave her, you know,” Sam said. “And it was her idea.”

“Still feels weird. I thought that I’d have to literally drag her back to the hotel room before she’d agree to stay behind.”

“She might be worried about Lucifer. That’s one hell of a bomb to drop on somebody.”

Dean laughed, but his heart wasn’t in it. He noticed that there were less people on the road as they grew closer and felt his adrenaline surge. Dean just hoped that they weren’t walking into a trap as they neared the ghost town.


	14. The Cauldron of Desire

There was now nothing but moonlight to help them see, Sean noted as he looked around the abandoned buildings. Fae could see better than humans in the dark, but even most of them appreciated a well lit room. Sean was waiting for the Winchesters to arrive. He didn’t see what Syd saw in them, but she seemed pretty close with the shorter one. Smoothing his hair back, he decided to see if he could sense the cauldron from outside the building. 

A small office stood on the corner of the street; Sean began to walk towards it, peering in windows to try to get an idea of the layout inside. Suddenly as he neared the office, he felt like he’s been hit in the stomach. The sound of someone walking near him put him on edge. Sean pulled out his knife and turned to see Sam and Dean walking towards him. Keeping the knife out, he scanned the darkness behind them. They must have parked further away, so that the musician wouldn’t be alerted to their presence.

Sean put his finger to his lips and pointed to the office building. He was sure that’s where the cauldron was now; Dean nodded and took out a gun. Sean noticed that Sam was carrying a large canister of water; he hoped that would be enough. Dean walked to the windows, trying to peer inside, but most of the windows were boarded up. Sean noticed a small boarded up window just below ground level, so this building had a basement. As Sean motioned towards the window, Dean seemed to understand what he was trying to say. If there was a basement, it would most likely be the musician’s hiding spot for the cauldron.

Slowly and quietly, Sam opened up the door while Dean quickly peered around it. No one was here at the moment; it was the perfect time to get rid of the cauldron. Sam and Dean walked quietly down the stairs, and Sean followed behind them. It was pitch-black in the basement, and Dean took out a flash light to look around. Suddenly Sean had a hard time breathing. The stench was overwhelming. Holding his nose closed, he pointed to a bookshelf. Sam and Dean pushed it slightly to the side to reveal a blood red cauldron. It was glowing, and they could see a dark clotting mixture inside the cauldron.

Suddenly a bang was heard from the stairs, and the musician practically flew down them, clutching a knife. The musician ran straight at Sean, and Sean just barely dodged him. The musician hit the wall with a sickening thud. He soon leapt back up and ran at Sean again. But Dean crashed into him from the side. For a second, it looked like Dean had the upper hand, but then the musician threw him into one of the stacks of boxes. It looked like the cauldron had given him superhuman strength. Sean threw his knife into the musician’s back to make sure Dean had enough time to get out of the way. Dean quickly took the opportunity and tried a different tactic.

“Hey, Randy. Do you really think that you should be playing with fire?” Dean asked while putting distance between his attacker and himself.

Randy just started laughing madly and chanting that their blood would make his soup. Sean realized just how dire the situation was as he tried to stay out of the musician’s reach but close enough to keep him from realizing what Sam was doing. The cauldron had been too much for a human. His mother had been able to hold on to a small portion of her sanity even while under its influence, but this human didn’t seem to be any more than the cauldron’s puppet now.

Sam had opened the canister and started chanting in Latin. No doubt it was part of a cleansing spell. Sean hoped that it would be enough to destroy the cauldron. Sam threw the water inside, and a scream could be heard echoing from the cauldron. The disgusting, rotting mixture faded away and hissed in reaction to Sam pouring the purified water. The musician started screaming, and his eyes glowed a deep red. He made a wild stab at Dean. Dean quickly leapt out of the way but crashed into more boxes. Sean was trying to find something that they could use to detain the musician. There were no restraints of any kind, not even rope.

The cauldron was shaking the room, and the musician realized something was wrong with the cauldron. Dean had gotten back up and charged at the musician. Using one arm, the musician quickly pushed Dean out of the way. He ran at Sam with the knife, and Dean quickly tackled him from behind. The cauldron’s power was weakening, but it wasn’t over yet . The cauldron had started spewing sparks and continued glowing.

Perhaps Sean was wrong. Was that not enough to stop the cauldron? But Sam appeared to have an idea, and he pulled out a bottle with a rag hanging out of it. He motioned for Sean and Dean to join him on the staircase. Dean dragged the musician to the staircase. As they prepared to flee the building, Sam lit the rag and threw it near the cauldron. With a bang, it exploded, sending a wave of holy fire to the cauldron. 

The cauldron went silent as it burst into flames. The musician let out a roar and ripped himself from Dean’s grasp as he also burnt up in flames. Dean looked shocked, but the flames were roaring out of control. Sean quickly ran back up the stairs with Sam and Dean running behind him. They made it out of the office with their clothes only slightly charred. Sean was coughing uncontrollably. The Fae really didn’t deal with smoke well, but luckily he’d gotten out of there before it could do any lasting damage. 

“What the hell was wrong with him?!” Dean shouted over the roar of the fire.

Sam gestured to Dean to keep moving away from the fire to talk. They made it to the Winchesters’ car before Sean felt inclined to answer him.

“He was human. That’s what was wrong. Faerie objects don’t work as well with humans,” Sean explained while Dean just looked angrier. 

“Work well? That thing burned him from the inside out! Did you know it would do that?!”

“No… I knew something might go wrong, but I didn’t expect the cauldron to have him so completely under its control.”

“What does that mean?” Sam asked.

“Usually it takes a while for an object to completely take over a human’s mind and body. And it means… that he was probably using the cauldron long before now. Perhaps even from the beginning…” Sean muttered the last line. He was wondering just how he was going to tell his mother.

Sean felt the presence of the Tribunal’s messenger and turned to see the man in the black suit gesturing to Sean to follow. Sean used his magic to appear beside him and turned back to see the Winchesters looking around for him before getting into their car and driving off. 

He breathed in the fresh air one last time before following the messenger back to the land of Faerie.


	15. Salty Surprise

The hotel room was mostly bare due to Syd and Charlie packing. Syd finished finding the last of her sweaters and looked around the room, search for any errant socks. Holly jumped on her bed with a soft meow; she seemed to sense something was wrong. Syd smiled and scratched under Holly’s chin. 

Ren and Charlie were double checking the bathroom to make sure that nothing of Syd’s was in there as Syd was notorious for leaving things behind. Since Syd and Charlie had started packing, Ren had decided that she should get her stuff together as well. That way they could all check behind each other, even though Ren didn’t plan on leaving until the next day. Charlie came out of the bathroom and gave Syd a thumbs up.

“Yup, we got everything,” Charlie assured Syd.

“You sure you don’t wanna come to the rave?” Ren called out while arranging her hair in a side bun. “Syd was barely even at the convention.”

“No, I’m good,” Syd replied, exchanging a look with Charlie. Syd had told Charlie the entire story but saw no reason to make Ren worry; Lucifer had never even heard of her. Syd had told Ren that she needed to leave tonight for work and Charlie wanted to go home and check on the animals. 

“At least grab something to eat with me before you leave me on my lonesome,” Ren pleaded and looked at Syd and Charlie with beseeching eyes.

“If I do, it has to be quick. If I’m driving at night, it can’t be too late,” Charlie responded firmly.

Syd checked her phone. Sam and Dean hadn’t called or messaged her yet, so she probably had time. And the only thing Syd had left to pack was Holly.

“Okay, I’ll go. There’s some fast food places nearby. That won’t take too long,” Syd said while messaging Sam and Dean that she was going to grab something to eat and to text her when they were close. 

Ren pouted a little, but she seemed to know that it was the best that she was going to get. They walked down the stairs and out to the street with Ren leading the way. Syd noticed how dark it was outside and briefly wondered if she should go back and get her Taser, but they were just going around the corner. It wasn’t far, and there were plenty of hotels to run into for help if something happened. 

They ordered their food and found a table at the back where they wouldn’t be easily seen or heard. Syd walked to retrieve their food before sitting back down. Checking her phone, she kept the messaging window open and turned up the volume before setting it down on the table.

“Which one are you waiting for?” Ren asked with a smirk.

“Who? What one?” Syd said and turned to Charlie, confused. 

“She means Dean or Sam,” Charlie explained with a small smile. “You seem to get along with them pretty well.”

Syd rolled her eyes and countered, “You get along better with Sam than I do. Dean and I just like a lot of the same things, although we fight a lot too.”

Ren looked irritated but continued eating, not saying a word.

“What is it, Ren?” Charlie asked, giving Syd a worried glance. 

“I just feel like you guys are keeping stuff from me. All of a sudden you two have guy friends that I’ve never heard about before, and now you’re leaving early. Plus you guys keep giving each other looks when I’m not looking. I’m not stupid. I know something’s going on.”

Syd scratched her head and sighed. They hadn’t told her about the whole Goatman ordeal yet, and that was because they were having trouble believing it was real. 

“Look, Ren,” Syd said carefully. “I know we’ve been acting weird but… it’s not anything you’ve done. I’m just dealing with some… stuff right now. I don’t really feel comfortable talking about it right now, but I promise as soon as I’ve got everything sorted out, you’ll be the first one I tell. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I got.”

“Okay,” Ren agreed but sounded unsure.

Ren and Charlie told Syd about the spectacles at the convention that she’d missed until Syd got a text from Dean. Sam and Dean were on their way to the hotel. Charlie collected their trash while Ren and Syd grabbed more to drink. They walked outside and slowly began to make their way back to the hotel. Ren walked in front of them and talked animatedly about the next convention when her heel caught a crack and she fell into the alleyway.

“You okay, Ren?” Syd walked toward the alleyway when she saw something that made her blood run cold. A man had caught Ren and had a knife to Ren’s throat. 

“No screams or she gets a smile smile from ear to ear. Just give me your money, and I’ll let you go,” the man said with a creepy grin.

Syd quickly dug into her pocket for her wallet, feeling the salt that she was keeping to ward of Sean. The man hesitated and stared at Syd.

“Hey, is your name Sydney?” he asked gruffly.

Syd looked into the man’s eyes, and for a second they went black. She dropped her wallet and grabbed some salt. Taking the man by surprise, Ren slammed her now broken heel into the man’s foot. Syd threw the salt into the man’s eyes, while Charlie grabbed Ren’s hand and ran. Luckily, the salt seemed to blind him, and as he fell down in pain, Syd ran back to the hotel right behind Ren and Charlie. They charged up the stairs before running into their room and locking the door behind them. Syd and Charlie were out of breath, but Ren still had some to spare. 

“What the hell was that about?! How did he know your name?” Ren whispered angrily. 

Syd tried to catch her breath as she picked up Holly and put her in the carrier.

“Ren, I swear I’ll tell you everything, but we need to leave now. We need for you to trust us. Please,” Charlie pleaded with Ren. Ren looked angry, but she packed up what little was left on the floor. 

Syd acted as a lookout for the demon as she called Dean to let him know what had just happened. Syd told Charlie to hurry up and leave. The brothers arrive at the hotel at any minute now. Syd and Charlie exchanged hugs as Ren pouted in the passenger seat. 

Syd didn’t have to wait long. The Impala pulled up, and Sam leapt out to help Syd load the car. Syd carefully placed Holly’s carrier in the car and jumped inside. As Sam pulled his door shut, Dean rolled the windows down a little and took off. 

“So the demon recognized you?” Sam asked.

“Somehow. Can demons see souls too?” Syd replied.

“Yeah. He must have noticed Lucifer’s grace inside of you and put two and two together.”

“Great,” Syd said tensely as she checked on a now sleeping Holly. She just hoped they could get to the bunker in one piece.


	16. See You Soon

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST HER?!” Lucifer bellowed as he used his powers to slam the offending demons into a wall. He had been waiting in Hell for them to bring Sydney, but it would seem that they couldn’t even handle that small task. The demon who had brought him Syd’s whereabouts was hanging on the wall, secured by Lucifer’s magic and knives. Lucifer hadn’t been pleased that this one hadn’t brought Syd straight to him. 

“The Winchesters must have got to her first,” one of the demons wheezed. The demon’s eyes soon widened in fear as Lucifer flashed her a bloodthirsty smile. A bright light shone from within the demon as her scream echoed though the chamber. The others backed away slightly and continued to look down.

“Obviously,” Lucifer snarled. “What I meant was… How the hell did you let her get away in the first place? And yes, I mean you.” Picking up another knife and turning around, he threw the knife. The knife flew into the demon, and he let out a whimper. 

“I am deeply sorry. That girl could tell that I was a demon,” he answered meekly.

“Well, of course she’s not dumb. Otherwise I’d have her by now.” Lucifer did ponder how Syd had been able to tell it was a demon, but maybe Syd was just throwing salt into every attacker’s eyes.

“We still have others searching. Maybe they’ll find her,” one of the demons said quietly while the others gave her a terrified glance. 

“I should hope so,” Lucifer warned calmly. The demons quickly left to look for Sydney again, although Lucifer knew that they wouldn’t find anything. Sam and Dean were resourceful; they’d already have hidden their tracks. Once they reached the bunker, Lucifer knew that he wouldn’t be able to get her from inside. 

The demon interrupted Lucifer’s thought with a small moan.

“I might actually feel inclined to spare you… if, and only if, you have any useful information that you’d like to share. Anything you forgot to mention during our little session?” Lucifer asked with a smirk. The demon had said that there’d been two girls with Syd. One of them was likely Charlie, but the other was a mystery. 

“I do. I knew that if I’d said it in front of the others, you might kill us all to keep it secret.”

“Well, now. Don’t be shy. Go ahead.”

“The reason that you’re after her… that you want her so badly,” the demon trailed off, and his eyes closed. There had been far more torture before the knife throwing, and the demon seemed to be drifting off. Normally Lucifer would just finish him off, but he was curious. Even he didn’t know why he felt so drawn to finding Syd. Perhaps this demon could illuminate the truth.

Lucifer approached the demon warily and asked loudly, “What? I don’t like to be left waiting.”

The demon jerked back awake and continued, “Your grace. I saw it. Her soul contains some of your grace.”

Lucifer stared at the demon. Was that why he’d felt so compelled to find Syd? His grace was merely missing its stranded piece. A sense of calm came over him, and he could see everything starting to fall into place. He’d been wondering why this vessel seemed so stable unless somehow Syd’s soul was grounding him in some way, keeping him steady but not draining his power.

Lucifer smiled as he realized the implications. Syd wasn’t anywhere near him, but just by being alive she could keep his vessel from exploding. What would happen when Lucifer finally had her nearby? He wondered briefly about the possibilities before remembering the demon that was still watching him in terror.

“So no one else knows about this?” 

“Just you and me,” the demon answered clearly terrified. 

The demon seemed to be telling the truth, and having the demons know about Sydney might not be such a good idea. They were a capricious bunch, and although many were loyal to him, they may turn on him if they found a big enough weakness. He’d need to keep this new information under wraps for the moment, at least until he found Syd.

Lucifer gave the demon a charming smile and said cheerily, “Well, I think someone just earned a promotion.” Clapping his hands, Lucifer released the demon from the magical restraints. The demon looked confused and stared at Lucifer. Lucifer quickly healed the demon’s wounds.

“Your loyalty has really touched me. I’m making you the head of the new search team. The others will report back to you when they find something promising, and you will be the one to personally check it out. When you find her, you will either capture her or tell me where she is. And tell no one what you just told me, or I will do much worse to you.”

The demon bowed, still surprised at his new level of authority, and responded, “Thank you. I will not let you down.”

“No, you won’t,” Lucifer said with a smile. He felt much more relaxed now and in control. Finding Syd could be much simpler now. After all, there were other ways to contact humans besides in person.


End file.
